2007

I think this should be called the budget find of the month, the Neighborhood bedspread designed for Urban Outfitters by the talented Julia Rothman. So in addition to her mug, you can have a $32 bedspread with more cheery house imagery on it. It’s cotton, so in case you don’t need a bedspread just view it as a large piece of fabric with limitless options. Maybe a smock for painting? A shower curtain? An ottoman cover? Sofa throw? Cover a headboard in a kid’s room? Cover a cork board?

One of these babies yields fabric sized 108″l x 90″w. It’s great seeing designers we know through blogs getting gigs with such big names like Anthro and Urbans. So congrats Julia – great gig, great work!

This went live weeks ago but I kept forgetting to blog about it. It’s my latest round up of perky prints over at Domino magazine online. It was really fun to pull this together as it focuses on art that I think would make great gifts. I tried to incorporate many different styles to appeal to all while staying true to what I love and would consider owning myself. I’m sure you know many of these great talents, but in case you may not, I invite you to view them online.

I’d like to thank the artists who helped me pull this together and of course, a big thanks to Domino magazine. I’ve been freelancing there since October ’06 and they’ve kept a very open mind when it comes to showcasing work by independent artists – they’re definitely keen on it and enjoy featuring these talents whenever they can, which is wonderful. It’s great to have support on that level.

You can find other artists and their prints here on the Domino website.

(image from domino)

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This is one of those projects that do not require instructions, you just need a jar and a photo. How’s that for simplicity and budget-friendly? Here I’ve used two jars, one vintage and one new, to 1) display my favorite photo and 2) for showing my quote of the month, usually torn from the pages of Real Simple or from a card, along these lines.

I like the idea of a quote jar because I can add new ones as I please and have the vessel for also adding all of the movie tickets and fortune cookie messages that my husband and I have saved since our first date. I can’t take credit for the ‘jar as display’ idea though, I found it via Australian glossy Inside Out, given to me by one of their writers (thank you!). But I can take credit for the quote jar, that’s entirely my own but you are welcome to try it for yourself. :) Simple but cute.

This is my favorite photo from our family collection of vintage shots, although I never say vintage around my mom. :) This photo is from the 1950’s, of my mother (in the front) with her mom and sister behind her. This was snapped on their family farm where she grew up and I think everything about it is just too cute, especially the pom-pom ties on her coat and the little white socks. Even the car in the background. Sweet.

And I love seeing my grandmother this young and happy. Her name is Millie and she relocated to a New England farm in her late 20’s from Wicker Park Chicago. She was always so stylish, must be the city girl in her, I remember her wearing heels around the house, even to the grocery store. Heck, even now at 87 she still gets her hair done up and insists on wearing red lipstick and clip-on earrings. But you see, these little memories contained here in a simple jar mean little to you but so much much to me. Now it’s your turn to find a jar and place something inside that you love. Since I’m really tired of traditional picture frames crowded around on tables, this arrangement works for me. I hope you like it too.

(images from holly becker for decor8)

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Tweet! Tweet! Welcome to the eco chic world of Australian design house Bird Textile, a young company with designer Rachel Bending taking the lead on creating beautiful products that are ecologically responsible. Here’s to saving the planet without losing your sense of style.

Rachel is also the mind behind green online boutique Slingfinds, where you can purchase from the Bird Textile home collection. Just lovely. Chirp.

And their fashion photos are equally pleasing with all the great layering, messages, and oh the patterns and the color palette. Best part, nearly every gorgeous fabric shown can be ordered by the yard simply through email. Just contact Bird Textile for more information: info AT birdtextile.com

These make me think (okay yearn, dream, lust for, long) of Springtime, but since warm days are months away, perhaps it’s best to simply introduce these colors in my winter wardrobe to perk up all the gray, denim, winter white, and black I’ve been wearing way to much of lately. Time to add a pink shirt under my gray sweater, or a bright handbag. Same goes with the sofa – add a few bright pillows to spice things up. Note to self: Color makes winter feel warmer than it is.

(images from bird textile)

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Since this post, our Creative Collections flickr group has grown to include some of you eager to show and tell. Here are some recent photos from the group that inspired me, each so very different from the next but all are quite well arranged and interesting I think. Check out these creative ideas…

A collection of art over the sofa in the home of flickr member ATLITW. She has a great collection of necklaces on display, too. It’s smart to create a focal point out of items you actually use, don’t you think?

Pretty things from Amsterdam artist, Rinske Dekker, also known on Flickr as Apple Blossom Girl. From plants to precious antiques, her arrangements make you pause and think, maybe if you were visiting Rinske you would like to ask her questions about these items? I know I would. And this is precisely why I love unique arrangements of things, maybe you can call them offbeat collections, but they stimulate the best conversations. When you wear an interesting necklace or a pin on your jacket, don’t you get a few curious passerbys wanting to know more about this piece? Same goes at home. Your guests will appreciate that you’ve opened up your heart to them by showing things that are uniquely you. I prefer rotating “living” displays in the home because they are very present tense. They speak loudly about who you are today, what inspires you and brings you joy. Try pulling together a little collection and see what happens.

Ready for this collection? Very unique and eco-friendly. Abbey, the New York blogger behind Aesthetic Outburst and esty store owner of How Now Design, collects all sorts of delightful, some may call them odd, objects. Here you can see a collection of bread bag tags beneath a glass cloche. Clever. And cloches are still hot by the way, so give one a try.

More from Abbey over at How Now Design. This time, bundt pans in the kitchen. Abbey mentions that she still needs 1 more bundt to complete this wall. Any leads for her on something cute and unique? Here’s a vintage metal pan from Germany, but I tend to think she could use another brightly colored one.

Abbey collects vintage birdies along with bundt pans and bread tags. Isn’t this lady someone you’d love to know? Her collections reveal her playful side, the ability to really enjoy living in a space and decorating it according to exactly who you are. Isn’t that what we’re all after, and what makes our homes so wonderful? Enjoying our abode and allowing them to reflect who we are is far more interesting than copying some trend or catalog.

Amy Gross ( amyla174 on flickr) is a mixed media artist (etsy store here) and has lots of interesting collections around her home. Here are some doll heads she collects. Doll heads are right up there with clowns for me, they absolutely creep me out, so I give anyone a high five who can sleep beneath a shelf of little heads. But I appreciate her collection and still think Amy is one cool girl. It would be fun to walk through her home and ask her about all the things she loves there. I bet even these heads have a story, huh?

More collections from Amy Gross, this time, pottery arranged on a pretty shelf. No heads here, just some natural beauty this time.

Nina van de Goor is a flickr girl who lives in the Netherlands, she collects vintage modern ceramics. I like the fishy bowl in the bottom left corner in gray and mustard yellow. Nice colors and the pattern would be fun for serving something from the sea.

More on collections, how to get started, and some inspiring displays can be found here.

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Let us look at pretty rooms for a moment, shall we? Oh Zara Home… Why do you tease the Americans so?

I assume it’s only a matter of time before they give in and give us what we want – Zara (fashion) is starting to take over America in most major cities, their Home stores have to follow eventually right? I’d even take them in the form of a web shop. Until we can enjoy their things, the Europeans can at least rejoice because Zara Home recently launched their gorgeous interior collections for adults and children online. The site is fantastic, I had such fun browsing it and I’m sure you will as well.

They have such an eye for mixing the old with the new (Danish-inspired teak chairs with eco-friendly rustic stools), classic pieces with a few exotic accessories (like leather poufs!), and lots of texture and warmth. If Zara Home and Habitat ever set up shop here in America, I’ll be in heaven. Until that day… I look closely at their catalog, observe the styling, what’s mixed in here and there, consider stores in the states that carry items much like these, and keep an open mind because we have such an abundance right here in our own country. Certainly we can pull off eclectic and creative spaces with all the resources we have.

(images from zara home)

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About

I’m Holly Becker, and I work as a journalist, author and interior stylist with a 4th book soon to release this September. On decor8, I share decorating ideas, trends and beautiful objects and places - those extra special finds, often made by hand, things that tell a story. I'm lucky enough to travel frequently so I record my many adventures here, too. Together with my small team, we present daily content to enlighten and inspire. Welcome and happy decor8ing!

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